Chiltern Railways has become the latest train operator to enter public ownership as the government closes in on its ambition to renationalise all major passenger rail services.
The operator, which runs commuter rail services on the Chiltern mainline between London Marylebone and Birmingham, on Sunday became the sixth to be nationalised under Labour, with the remaining four to follow by the end of 2027.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said the move would bring more reliable services, with plans to end what it termed the “daily frustration” of overcrowding.
It has promised a package of improvements for Chiltern passengers, including more services and seats, new trains, upgraded stations and better onboard facilities including upgraded wifi.
The government legislated in 2024 to renationalise private train operations as contracts allowed, joining the four operators already in public ownership and Network Rail to eventually establish an integrated body, Great British Railways (GBR).
The rail minister, Peter Hendy, said: “Every transfer into public ownership gives us the chance to tackle the bread-and-butter issues people care about – more frequent, comfortable trains that turn up on time.
“As we set up Great British Railways, we’re putting passengers first. It will not happen overnight, but we will build a railway the country can trust and rely on and that will create growth, jobs and homes.”
Another 25 daily services will be introduced on the Chiltern network from December, with 10,000 extra seats each weekday, as more new trains are rolled out.
Tony Baxter, the interim managing director of Chiltern Railways, said customers would see “improvements made possible thanks to years of planning, dedication and hard work by Chiltern colleagues. Public ownership will further strengthen that progress through closer collaboration across the industry.”
The DfT said the move “also provides a fresh opportunity to deliver East West Rail”, the long-awaited services that should have started under Chiltern last year on a completed stretch of the future Oxford-Cambridge line.
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However, it is unclear if a start date for East-West services between Oxford and Milton Keynes has come any closer after the transfer to the state operator, DfTO. Although a variety of reasons have been given for the delay, unions oppose plans to run the trains without a guard.
The RMT union is due to demonstrate outside London Marylebone station on Monday, and members are being balloted for strike action over plans backed by the DfT for driver-only operation.
The row threatens to further cloud the horizon for GBR, as the government seeks to demonstrate the benefits of the publicly owned railway.
The next operator to transfer into public ownership is due to be Great Western Railway in December.
